Political and social issues have always been a major concern in modern Arabic literature. Although the debate about literary commitment (iltizam) was at its peak in the mid-1950s, the importance of literature and the arts for society was never denied by either authors or critics and readers even in later decades. However, the way how literature could and should take part in, or even initiate, political and social debates has been the subject of controversial discussions. While many writers advocated social realism, this trend was criticized by its opponents for its directly political, often ideological stances, and the importance of the freedom of the arts, its aesthetic and more subtle forms of expressing dissent was emphasized. In Egypt, the ‘generation of the sixties’, which had turned to more experimental, fragmented forms of writing, was followed by the ‘generation of the nineties’ whose often metafictional, self-reflective texts were criticized as apolitical and elitist. The 2000s witnessed a certain return to storytelling and a more panoramic view of society, and a number of texts appeared that blurred the boundaries between fictional and non-fictional writing (diary, reportage) as well as high-brow and popular literature, especially in the context of the ’25 January Revolution’ in 2011.
In this seminar, we will explore the ways and forms used by writers and artists of various generations to, directly or indirectly, express political dissent and engage in political and social debates. While the focus will be on literary texts, we will also look at other forms of cultural production and media, such as popular poetry and songs, autofictional blogs and street art.
The seminar is open for students of other literary and cultural studies programs (MA NTS, BAPS, Kulturpoetik and others). The texts we will discuss are either translated to or originally written in English, thus the knowledge of Arabic is not mandatory. In case all participants speak sufficiently German, the class may be held in German.
Selected readings:
Generations of Dissent: Intellectuals, Cultural Production, and the State in the Middle East and North Africa, eds. Alexa Firat & R. Shareah Taleghani (2020); Commitment and Beyond: Reflections on/of the Political in Arabic Literature since the 1940s, eds. Friederike Pannewick & Georges Khalil (2015); Samia Mehrez: Egypt’s Culture Wars: Politics and Practice (2000); Arabistik. Eine literatur- und kulturwissenschaftliche Einführung, eds. Yvonne Albers et al. (2021); Arabic Literature – Postmodern Perspectives, eds. Angelika Neuwirth, Andreas Pflitsch & Barbara Winckler (2010).
- Lehrende/r: Barbara Winckler